Ronnie’s Run Down 8/22/18

Welcome to Ronnie’s Run Down! This column looks at some fascinating matchups and facts that might pique the interest of the reader as that day’s games are reviewed. This is just my attempt at creating come compelling thought on any given day. There are nine innings in baseball, and nine points in my daily run down.

Chad Pinder has the best HC against left handed pitching of any hitter in the AL at 55.1%. Against southpaws this season he has a 120 wRC+. Among Athletics, Mark Canha has the best wRC+ against lefties at 158, he also leads the team with a .325 ISO thanks to 11 home runs against southpaws. Tonight the Athletics face lefty Mike Miner of the Texas Rangers.

Tyler Richard’s fastball has been getting smacked around lately, to the tune of -5.6 wFA in his last 5 starts. That’s a big problem for his since his four seam is by far his most used pitch at 52.3%. The Yankees, Miami’s opponent today, rank 2nd in the Majors with 46.3 wFA. The Bronx Bombers’ top hitter against the pitch is Giancarlo Stanton with a 19.7 wFA. Stanton also happens to be the clubs hottest hitter with 56.3% HC and .536 wOBA in his last 27 PA.

David Peralta’s 50.0% HC is the best among any hitter in the Majors against right handed pitching. He’s hitting .323/.378/.590 with a .268 ISO and a .406 wOBA. His opponent today is righty Odrisamer Despaigne of the Los Angeles Angels. Despaigne has just 2 starts on the season where he has a combined 37 GS.

J.T. Riddle of the Marlins is making 58.8% HC in his last 22 PA. He has a 202 wRC+ in that span with a .421 ISO. He’s got a touch matchup today against Lance Lynn who has a 171 ERA+ in 20.2 innings since joining the Yankees. Left handed hitters have a 137 sOPS+ against him on the season, which should swing the advantage towards Riddle.

The Blue Jays Kendrys Morales is leading the Majors with a .529 ISO in the last 7 days. He has 22 PA in that time with a 22.7% walk rate and just a 9.1% strikeout rate. The Jays Are at home against David Hess of the Baltimore Orioles. Hess has just a 5.54 K/9 in his 65 innings this year with a 5.60 SIERA.

Nick Delmonico is having a nice week, slashing .300/.364/.750 in 22 PA with the White Sox. He has an outstanding .450 ISO to go along with a .456 wOBA. Tonight he’ll face the Twins Kyle Gibson, who’s giving up 46.1% HC in his last 25 innings.

The Red Sox Xander Bogaerts has not struck out in his last 27 PA. In that span he’s hitting .400/.478/.650 with a 203 wRC+. The odd thing about his streak is that he’s making 40.0% SC and he has a 55.0% GB. Tonight he’ll hit against Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians. In his last 5 starts Carrasco has a 54.7% GB and a 31.1% K rate.

Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals takes the hill today against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Flaherty has a 3.16 SIERA in his last 5 starts. In that time he’s thrown 29.1 innings with a 11.66 K/9 and a 24.1% K/BB. Flaherty throws a fastball 39.6% of the time and a slider on 29.3% of his pitches; he leads the Cardinals with 8.4 wFA and he has a solid 7.9 wSL.

Greg Allen is currently riding a 14 game hitting streak dating back to July 14. The utility outfielder is hitting .383/.420/.447 during his streak with 5 stolen bases in 6 attempts. The switch hitting outfielder is making a close to league average 38.6% HC with a very low 6.8% SC. He’s played in every one of his team’s games missing only one start going back to August 9th.